Going by our research, industrial starch (whether from corn, cassava, potato or rice, etc) is one of the fast selling products in the international market.
For this product to attract very high demand and higher prices, it must be well-processed and must maintain very high acceptable international standards, and must be handled with the deserved professionalism. This is a profitable project to invest on this year 2010.
Market position
The demand for industrial starch is world wide. This product is highly demanded in Netherlands, France, United Kingdom, and Federal Republic of Germany. It is also widely demanded in Taiwan, Asia, and USA. The local demand is also encouraging. Starch can be produced in dry or wet forms. Both wet and dry starch is needed in Europe. It has a lot of industrial uses, and can be used as ingredient in the preparation of bread, custard, sauce, snacks, pap. The industrial uses include textile, book binding, glue making, paper board, batteries, cosmetics, paint and soap. Starch is also used in weaving, spinning, and dye works, paper boards, dressing paints, leather adhesive, paste stamps and carpets. 
It can also be used in artificial honey, fruit juice sweets, beer, and canned fruit confectionaries and pharmaceutical industries. Because of different uses starch can be subjected to, global demand is over 18 billion metric tons per annum. The supply on the other hand has not been encouraging in the international market. Apart from Zaire and Brazil which supplied a total of 18.2 million metric tons in 1999 and 26.5 metric tons in 2001, the gap has been longing for bridging. There is a gap of about 16.3 billion metric tons of starch for industrial uses; therefore, there is plenty of cassava and other root crops or tubers in Nigeria for the production of world starch requirement.
Plants, machinery and equipment
The major equipment needed include cassava peeler, sifter, slicer, grater, extractor, pulveriser and dryer (if dry starch is required), hammer mill/disintegrator, automatic or semi automatic weighing, and packaging machine and sitches/seakers. Production capacity of the machine under consideration has a full capacity of 10 metric tons of starch per day on two shifts. This implies that about 75, 000 metric tons will be produced in a year.
Quality, packaging standards
It should be noted that this product is demanded in metric tons by end users. It is therefore advisable that the end product be packed as such and to maintain the international market water content standard of about 8 percent. The product is packaged in 100kg jute bags for export. How the products should be preserved to avoid producing irritating odours will be discussed when we are contacted for further clarifications by prospective investors.
International prices/foreign markets
The price fluctuates between $650 and $800 per metric ton. Locally, it is sold between N42, 000 and N45, 000 per metric ton. Prospective investors would be assisted in the area of getting foreign buyers at reasonable prices.
Financial implication
The project can be started on a medium scale of N10.6 million as shown below. Since the machine produces 75,000 metric tons per annum, working for 300 days, the total sales revenue at full capacity will be $18.6 million within the first year of operation. Realising however that our industrial capacity cannot be realised, the capacity is placed at 50 percent, resulting in total annual income of $9.4 million (N1.3 billion).
Having considered the availability of raw materials, convincing technological position, government encouragement to non-oil export-oriented investors and availability of human resources, as well as huge profit margin from exporting this product; we recommend this project to Nigerians to invest in. Uba Godwin’s contact: Tel: 01-4721550, 01-7349363; 08023664368, 08034494437, Email: “mailto: ubagodwin@yahoo.com
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